


Silence Speaks Louder

by psMT



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 08:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14256723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psMT/pseuds/psMT
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir take time out from patrol, and learn that sometimes it's what you don't say that matters most.





	Silence Speaks Louder

**Author's Note:**

> I've spent too many years on this godforsaken website without posting anything, so here goes nothing...
> 
> Constructive criticism appreciated :)

Ladybug knows she should head for home. Daylight faded several hours ago, leaving two superheroes blanketed in shadow as Paris glitters in the distance. The Sacré-Cœur is the perfect place to enjoy the view, now that it’s back in one piece. A savage akuma had threatened to level it along with the rest of Montmartre, but a well-timed distraction and cataclysm kept the danger at bay.

Ladybug leans back on her hands, her feet dangling freely over the ledge. It’s a comfortable silence. She can hear Chat’s soft breathing from where he sits next to her. It’s these quiet moments she appreciates the most - moments when the weight of secrets and akumas and schoolwork seem miles away. Ladybug, Marinette, it doesn’t matter. Here she can just be herself without the need for any charade.

_Well, almost._

She turns to look at Chat. Leaning his shoulder against a pillar, he looks lost in thought. One leg swaying over the edge, the other tensed up towards his chest. The gentle breeze sifts through his hair as he gazes out over city.

In many ways she feels completely at ease around him. There’s an implicit understanding between them. They move as one to subdue akuma, bantering back and forth in the midst of destruction as only they could. Even so, they understand the inherent danger that their powers bring and how quickly a battle can turn on its head. She knows she can count on him, and that when she runs headfirst into danger he’ll be right there by her side.

He has supported her for the last year through thick and thin, as her partner and as her friend. When her insecurities threatened to overwhelm her, he encouraged her. When she was stressed out of her mind, a quip or a pun would either make her laugh or roll her eyes, but make her feel better either way.

She trusts him, more than she trusts anyone.

But she doesn’t know him. Not really.

The thought didn’t really bother her until they met on her balcony a few weeks ago. As Marinette, she saw a side to him that she didn’t even know existed. She misjudged his feelings for playful flirtations, brushing them off without a second thought. What else has she missed? He always seems so carefree and easygoing, but observing him now in the low light she can see the furrow of his brows and the tightening of his shoulders beneath his suit. Now that she’s seen the lines of tension, she can’t unsee them.

She wants to reach out, to ask what’s on his mind. An intake of breath. An outstretched hand. _But what should I say?_

Chat stirs at the movement, turning his head to look at her.

“Something the matter, m’lady?”

“M-matter? No! I mean, I just, well…” Ladybug trails off, avoiding his eyes. She can feel her cheeks flushing beneath her mask.

Chat tilts his head, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Ladybug sighs. “What I’m trying to say is, is everything ok?”

Chat stares at her blankly. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be when I have the pleasure of your company, Bugaboo?”

Ladybug resists the urge to roll her eyes, holding his gaze. “I just... I know that we need to keep our identities hidden, and I would never want you to compromise that, but if there’s anything bothering you, anything at all, even if it’s not superhero stuff, I just want you to know that I’m here for you, if you ever need me.”

She watches as Chat’s eyes fall from hers. “It’s nothing really. Nothing new, anyway.” he confesses.

Ladybug rests a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not nothing if it’s bothering you, kitty.”

She watches as his face shifts. His black mask is still there, but another has dropped. He curls in on himself and rests his head on his arms, looking back out over the city. Ladybug resists the urge to fidget with her yoyo, the silence no longer comfortable.

“I guess… I just…” he starts. “It’s my father. It’s always my father. We were supposed to spend the day together, just the two of us. Today is… well, I guess it doesn’t matter what day it is, but I hoped it would be different. He promised he would come, but he didn’t. It really shouldn’t surprise me, it’s not like he ever does, not since mom-”

Chat snaps his mouth shut, his eyes glistening. Seconds tick by as Ladybug waits for the rest, but it doesn’t come. Chat buries head in his arms.

It takes a moment for Ladybug’s brain to catch up from confusion to realisation. _Since his mom what? What could have happened that-_

_Oh._

The silence is deafening.

“Forget I said anything,” he whispers.

Ladybug is too stunned to move. She doesn’t know exactly where that sentence was going to end, but Chat’s reaction is enough.

His mother. He lost her, somehow. Unbidden images of her own mom flash before her eyes _\- ill - dying - Mom’s smile as she heads out for school - her father collapsing in distress - how could they cope - Mom kissing her forehead - how could she cope - how could she live without her -_

Ladybug shakes her head, forcing herself back into the present and back to her partner still hunched over beside her. His body is coiled like a spring, and her heart breaks. Slowly, she shuffles over next to him and wraps her arms around him. She can feel him tense up so she holds him tighter, tries to let him know without words that she’s here for him, tries to soak up some of his pain. She doesn’t know when the tears started running down her cheeks.

She feels Chat loosen in her arms as he begins to shake. He shifts beside her and she starts to pull away, but he simply turns towards her to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her neck. She keeps holding him as quiet sobs rack through his body, absentmindedly stroking his hair. _I had no idea. I’m so sorry, Chat. I’m so sorry._

Ladybug can’t tell how long they stay like that. Chat’s sobs have subsided, but neither want to pull away. They can hear bells tolling in the distance and they both know they should have left hours ago.

“Ladybug?”

“Yes, Chat?”

“Thank you... And I’m sorry if I upset you.”

Ladybug pulls back to look at him, taking his hands in hers and waiting until he meets her gaze.

“Chat, I’m always here for you, no matter what, even if you can’t tell me what’s wrong. Even if you can and it’s upsetting, I don’t care. If it’s 3 in the morning and all you need is a hug, I’ll be there.”

She watches his bloodshot eyes soften as he grips her hands.

“This is why I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!


End file.
